Los Angeles is truly a living example of the biblical Garden of Eden. It represents a city of both paradise and temptation. Chinatown seemingly represents this biblical land. Detective JJ Gittes battles a corrupt government and the evil businessman, Noah Cross. In many ways Chinatown acts as a 1970s noir film. However, Chinatown is neo-noir. Director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne portray Los Angeles as a gorgeous but rotten city while using historical inaccuracies to create a neo-noir film that both represents and disavows traditional film noir. Chinatown portrays Los Angeles as a gorgeous but sinful city. Throughout Chinatown we are treated to exquisite views of the city of Los Angeles. JJ Gittes travels throughout the city. …show more content…
The Owen’s Valley Water Wars serves as the basis of the 1930’s set Chinatown. However, the Owens Valley Water Wars that is central to the narrative of Chinatown occurred in the early 20th century. Polanski and Towne double down to further manipulate history by modifying historical characters. The characters of JJ Gittes, Evelyn Mulwray, and Noah Cross are completely fictional. However, the character of Hollis Mulwray does have a historical counterpart—William Mullholland. Hollis Mulwray and William Mullholland both serve as officials in Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. However, after this similarity the characters diverge remarkably. Hollis Mulwray is a tragic hero. Mulwray acts to stop the building of a new reservoir, as it would benefit the corrupt Noah Cross at the expense of the citizens of Los Angeles. Mulwray’s opposition leads to his murder at the hands of Cross. William Mullholland is no tragic hero like Mulwray. Mullholland did exactly what Noah Cross did in Chinatown. Mullholland conspired with Los Angeles Mayor Fred Eaton to purchase cheap land in the Owen Valley under the allusion the water would benefit Los Angeles’s residents. The scam created massive profits for Mullholland and Eaton. Polanski has a reason for including this contradiction—the creation of a narrative that fit 1970s …show more content…
Evelyn’s complexity is based off the feminism movements of this period. The feminism movements of this period advocated for women to have more rights and roles. Polanski’s creation of Evelyn allows her to not be merely just a beautiful woman but an investigative partner to JJ Gittes. Evelyn is a product of Gloria Steinem and Betty Freidan. The tone of noir fits 1970s American society. Noir represents pessimism and frustration. In Chinatown, the killer is not arrested and the government and police are corrupt. This idea mirrors the society of America at the time. An era that was characterized by the Vietnam War, Watergate, and Charles Manson. Polanski puts the frustrations of America into Chinatown as a way to express pessimism. Chinatown is a product of a pessimistic society. Polanski uses noir as a way to ground his film and portray American society as a whole. However, Polanski uses new techniques like complex female characters and color to refine noir. These innovations help create neo-noir which is basically refined noir and can be seen in the films of
McCandless’s tale struck a personal note that made a dispassionate rendering of the tragedy impossible. Throughout most of the book, I have tried– and largely succeeded, I think– to minimize my authorial
In the text “Contemporary Ethnic Geographies in America” informs us about ethnic enclaves in the United States in an article by Brian J. Godfrey. Chapter 3: New Ethnic Landscapes informs us about how a town can become an establishment such as a monument to one city. Ethnic Enclaves: Consolidation of Place-based Identities on page 67 explains the identities found within cultural landscaping and how its shape and effects reflect on the demographics of the city. Historical monuments and services also shape the ethnic enclaves of ones city. I will be analyzing San Francisco’s Chinatown ethnic enclaves
This goes on to show how arrogant and stubborn McCandless was to believe that he could survive with the bare minimum only because he convinced himself he could do it. Moreover, a writer named Nick Jans adds, “Same story: idealistic, energetic young guys who overestimated themselves, underestimated the country, and ended up in trouble. McCandless was hardly unique; there’s quite a few of these guys hanging around the state, so much alike that they’re almost a collective cliche. The only difference is that McCandless ended up dead, with the story of his dumbassedness splashed across the media.... (Jack London got it right in “To Build a Fire.”
Mullaney’s obedience forced upon by his West Point training is seen as problematic in the chapter entitled, “The Unforgiving Minute”, where we see O’Neill, a man under Mullaney’s command, die. We see how he reacts to O’Neill’s death in a way different than most, he ends his chapter with “no excuse, sir”. We are shown that his education has pushed him to feel guilt and that West Point
3. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Metropolis is an important example of German Expressionism and of early science fiction. A great inquiry on future of humanity, a critique of society, a prominent dystopian film. Fritz Lang’s remarkable work has dazzlingly designed sets, costumes and unpredictable characters.
Film noir movies often have stylistic characteristics such as exaggerated lighting and shadows. Scarlet Street contained many subjective camera shots while also using exaggerated shadows, for example during the first scene in the movie, there is an emphasis on the mans shadow as he walks into the room. Which brings me to a crucial point, Black and white filmmaking. Black and white style is considered to be an essential attribute for a film noir movie, black and white allows the director to emphasize on distorting images, for example use of the venetian blind shot. Another continuous pattern of film noir is to include main stock characters, this film contains: an anti-hero and a femme fatale, these stock characters are always seen in noir films.
Sengupta explains that Boyle’s film solely portrays the negative aspects of capitalism in Mumbai as well as the harsh reality that it’s citizens experience and live in. Sengupta conveys accurate points when describing life in the slums based on what we witness in Danny Boyle’s movie, Slumdog Millionaire. When talking about the slums and the streets of Mumbai, Sengupta is precise when explaining that the city is cluttered with waste and rubbish. In Slumdog Millionaire, there is a scene where Jamal, Salim, and the other children of Mumbai are running from police officers in which Boyle uses different camera angles to show different parts of the city. In this scene, all of the shots expose trash laying in the background behind the slums and in the rivers surrounding Mumbai.
The setting (post-war London) rivals or surpasses any post-war urban decay as portrayed by its American counterparts - kind of makes sense, because noir thrives on the decayed, the decrepit - and after being bombed to near
Imagine a proud horse, tied to a small plastic chair, unmoving because it believes escaping is hopeless. This is a psychological condition called learned helplessness, and in Robert Towne’s Chinatown (1974), we see the detective hero Jake Gittes’ descent into this condition. Gittes is defined by his chase after justice, willing to question and arrest enemies, lovers, and even his employers. Polanski and Towne use the dark world of Chinatown, a very loose “first person” view, and Joe Gittes as a relatable tragic hero in order to lead us to the same conclusion Gittes does: The world and future is out of your control, and by trying to you might make it worse. Better to do as little as possible.
The film ‘Good Will Hunting’ directed by Gus Van Sant is a movie which follows the life of Will Hunting who is gifted with astonishing skills for maths but whom suffered with a fear of abandonment. He developed a defense mechanism which affected his ability to create long lasting relationships. An important extract from the movie is the scene ‘ It’s not your fault’. This scene conveyed the impact of childhood traumas, the effects of suppressed emotions and the idea of soulmates. These ideas were manifested through the use of various film techniques, such as camera shots and movements, music and dialogue.
He stood in front of her car and refused to move until the woman justly purchased cookies from Jackie. This demonstrated the eventual effect that racism has on people. Frank was a non confrontational person, but this small act was enough to push him over the edge. In a way the Watts Riots were the same as the cookie scandal, just on a grander scale. Southland focuses on the past and present racial injustices in Los Angeles.
Keith acts on his angers against the Asian Americans and attempts to steal from the Asian American community. The plot is set in the backdrop of the Rodney King riots, which emphasizes a moment in history when
Mulholland… Christopher Mulholland… wasn’t that the name of the Eton schoolboy who was on a walking-tour through the west country, and then all of a sudden…”(Dahl, 4) In this passage, Billy is beginning to remember who the Mulholland boy was, but then the landlady interrupts him, making him almost completely forget. This creates suspense because the readers want to know what happened to Mr Mulholland, but Billy never finishes his sentence so we never really know what happens to this guy until the end of the story. This part foreshadows toward the end where she tells him that the two people on the check-in list are still in the house, and that they are
The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features an incredible amount of talent. Household names such as: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters
Although the main conflict of the film lies within the Japanese culture, it encompasses the loss of cultural identity, and how some Japanese choose to embrace a more modern, western culture. By doing so, it pushes the cultural differences to the